


Kiss & Tell

by Lady_Iwaizumi



Series: Bokuaka Oneshots! [4]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Anxiety, Bokuaka - Freeform, Emo Mode, Falling In Love, First Crush, First Kiss, Fluff, Friendship/Love, Innocence, Keiji the Owl, Kissing, Kissing and Telling, Love Confessions, M/M, Oneshot, Pining, Secrets, Shyness, Texting, Volleyball Dorks in Love, bokuto makes himself suffer, but he enjoys it, cuteness, love sick, stuffed animals, surprise kisses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-16
Updated: 2017-10-16
Packaged: 2019-01-18 09:34:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12385554
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Iwaizumi/pseuds/Lady_Iwaizumi
Summary: Instead of paying attention in class, Bokuto comes to a startling realization: he has a deep, deep crush on the volleyball team's setter and his best friend, Akaashi Keiji.When he finds himself unable to let the second-year know how he feels about him, his volleyball suffers, the team suffers, and as a result, Akaashi suffers. When confronted by his crush, Bokuto does the only logical thing he can think of:He kisses him.And then he runs.





	Kiss & Tell

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this in one day and I'm really proud and IN LOVE WITH THIS STORY YEETTTTTTT  
> (know that I don't seriously use the term "yeet" as a catchphrase; I do so in mocking of social media)  
> Enjoy! Kudos and comments are always welcome!

 

On a bright, sunshiney Monday morning in Fukurodani Academy, third-year Bokuto Kotaro was sitting in the Class 1 history classroom, head looking in the direction of the blackboard, but seeing a million other things besides the notes he was supposed to be writing. Usually this was normal behavior for Bokuto, as his childish mind wandered to other worlds quite often, but today was different for one reason:

 

Instead of daydreaming about volleyball, Bokuto was daydreaming about a certain messy-haired setter named Akaashi Keiji.

 

This slight obsession with the setter had begun long before the wing spiker knew about it; before nationals his second year, probably from the first moment he met Akaashi—who can tell? Kotaro, as admirable as he is, wasn’t known for his quick thinking when it came to sensible things; some things took him forever to figure out, his extreme crush for Keiji being one of those things.

Since Bokuto had only recently realized his crush a few weeks ago, it was taking him a long time to get up enough courage to tell the setter about his feelings. It only made sense that he wasn’t paying attention to anything other than this “crisis.”

The notes on the blackboard became blurry to him, which was what had prompted Bokuto’s daydreams in the first place. Akaashi’s hair was blacker than black, shining like an obsidian stone, almost to the point of looking blue; he also had these lovable little waves and random curls everywhere, which is strange, because as much as it fits the second year’s personality, it also _didn’t_ , because Akaashi was very studious and a “smarty pants,” as Bokuto said—he started wondering how the setter could pull that off so well, and thus, began picking out other characteristics of Akaashi Keiji that he found interesting.

 

As it turns out, there were many interesting things about Akaashi.

 

 _For starters, his hair_ , Kotaro thought, nodding to himself firmly. _It looks as soft as feathers, like an owl’s or something! Akaashi would make a good owl. Whenever I ruffle his hair up playfully, or hold him in a headlock, his hair always gets caught in my fingers and stays in the exact same position I put it in, which is hilarious; his skin is like…not clear, but not rough, either. There’s a few spots where puberty strikes, but the other parts that aren’t affected always seem to glow. I don’t think that’s very fair. Akaashi also has great eyebrows—mine are all high and shaped like boomerangs, but his are just perfect! Not too straight because of his constant eyebrow raising, and the same pretty color of his hair._

_Akaashi’s so handsome. And pretty, too!_

_What else…Ooo! That dusty chalk eraser reminds me of Akaashi’s eyelashes, because they’re dark, but not as dark as his hair, and they’re so…well, dusty! And those EYES. Damn…I could stare into his eyes all day long if I could. Some people say the narrowness of them makes him look like he’s glaring and irritated, but I don’t think that’s true at all; they’re just…hooded! Yeah, that’s the word. They kinda make him look sexy, but it’s a bit early to be thinking about that—sleepy. He does look kind of sleepy, especially when he IS sleepy, which is also really adorable; I could hug him all day when he’s sleepy. And the color of those eyes is just breathtaking. I’ve never seen anyone with midnight blue eyes that have a hint of shiny emerald inside them!_

_Akaashi sure is one of a kind._

The bell rang loudly, making Bokuto jump in his seat. He didn’t know when he began drooling, but apparently his friends had been watching, because they snickered under their breath and mumbled something as they walked by. The teacher had grown tired of giving the student disappointed looks, and settled with telling Bokuto that he needed to pay attention in class more; the wing spiker assured him that he would, secretly adding “but only after I tell Akaashi that I like him” after the fact. He hurried out of the room, shoving his belongings into his bag as he searched the hallways for the setter.

 _Today’s the day_ , Bokuto told himself, swallowing nervously as he scanned the crowd of students and waited in his usual meeting place with Keiji. _I can tell him today—today I’m feeling brave. If I choke and back-out of asking him to go on a date with me, I at least have to tell him how I’ve been feeling about him…I mean, Akaashi deserves that much._

When two-minutes and thirty-seconds went by without any sign of the second-year, Bokuto’s courage immediately failed him, sending the owlish man into a frantic panic. The fear was coming alive in his poor heart, summing up all of the confusing thoughts he had towards the setter for the past few weeks.

_But what if he hates me for it?! What if it freaks him out so badly he quits the volleyball team?!! What if I completely destroy our relationship by doing this?! What if he starts never speaking to me unless absolutely possible?! Oh no…I can’t have that…I can’t ruin Akaashi’s image of me…what do I do?! I’ve never asked anyone out before! Why did I think I could do this?! Why did I think I would be able to ask AKAASHI out, of all people?! He’s too cool! I can’t d—_

 

“You look lost, Bokuto-san.”

 

Kotaro jerked his head left to see none other than the light of his life, Akaashi Keiji, setter and vice captain of the Fukurodani volleyball club standing right beside him, those appraising eyes looking at him steadily, his bookbag slung over his shoulder.

 

Everything in the world flipped over again as the grey-haired teen stared blankly at the dark-haired student, eyes seeing everything he wanted to so clearly it made his head spin. Akaashi’s shining violet eyes were looking over at him, _only_ at him, those eyelashes clumped and stuck together, probably from the way he slept with his face pressed against his rock-hard pillow; Keiji’s lips weren’t straight, weren’t in a frown, but weren’t in a smile—they were perfectly neutral, which was one of Bokuto’s favorite looks on the second year. His heart was beating rapidly deep within his chest, and he hoped Akaashi couldn’t hear it, because there’s no telling how obvious the reason behind his nerves would be. Keiji’s face was as pale and as even as ever, the dark shade of his eyebrows contrasting perfectly with the white complexion; everything about him was just as breathtaking as it was in Bokuto’s daydreams, in his sweetest dreams, in his frequent “Akaashi Sessions” where he sat on his bedroom floor and remembered all the good times they had in their friendship so far.

Keiji himself was unaware of the admiring going on in his senpai’s mind, and waited for Kotaro’s response. Little did he know that the spiker had just come to a crushing, but wonderfully joyous conclusion, after three weeks of contemplation and questioning.

 

 _Damnit…_ Kotaro thought slowly. … _So it’s true, then. I…I…_

_I really really like Akaashi._

 

“I’m not lost, Akaashee!” He claimed forcibly. The truth was, he had never felt so airheaded and misplaced in his life. “Wanna go to the gym early so we can practice spiking?!”

Keiji pondered over all his life choices before answering.

“Alright…”

“Whoop!”

“You’re stepping on my foot, Bokuto-san.”

“Oh! Sorry Akaashee!”

The energy surrounding the pair was noticibly full of anxiety and nerves; Keiji could feel it less than others could, but only because the third-year was frantically keeping him in mindless conversations on their way over to the volleyball gymnasium. Kotaro was bouncing around, nudging into people, tripping over his own shoes, and trying to come up with a method to ask the second-year out, all at the same time.

Obviously, it was complete chaos inside Bokuto’s mind.

“Have you seen those ladybugs?”

“What ladybugs?”

“Those blue ones on the Discovery Channel! They’re blue, like really bright blue, and they…”

 _This is too hard. This is way too hard,_ he thought in terror, rubbing his hands together while talking about God knows what to the overwhelmed setter. _Just do it, Bokuto. Just go right out and ask him. Do it quickly, everything’s better when it’s quick; if it’s quick, maybe the pain will lessen, and maybe I won’t even hear Akaashi’s rejection! Wait…do I even WANT to ask him out, or do I want to tell him how I feel? The second option would be less of a shock for the poor kid, but I just…I just really want to be close to him, and I know asking him out would put him on the spot right away, seconds after being told that his senpai’s practically in love with him…no. Just ask quickly, then run away. Ask as quickly as humanly possible._

“Hey hey, did you hear about Konoha’s new girlfriend?”

“Did he have a different one before?”

“Nope! She’s in class _seven_ , though, so we think she’s out of his league, but he said…”

_Oh crap…how should I word it?_

The duo made it into the locker room, where Kotaro realized he was standing half a foot away from a barely-clothed Keiji, which made him promptly knock his head against a locker as he turned in the total opposite direction as the naked setter, hoping to not add another concern onto his pile of stress. Truthfully, this was one of the only times Kotaro had ever been nervous; this wasn’t just a test or a volleyball game—this was _romance_. As easy as his feelings for the second-year had come, he was making the situation confusing and difficult because he wanted everything to be perfect, and he didn’t want to upset Akaashi in any way. He wanted to be happy too, but he wasn’t sure if what he wanted to do was good for either of them, creating a never-ending circle of doubt and hesitation within his poor heart.

_Quickly. Like ripping off a bandaid. Yeah, just like ripping a bandaid off…except I don’t use bandaids because they pull the hair on my arms, and that hurts like hell. Whatever. Just take a deep breath, and ask him. You can say “Akaashi—I need to tell you something. I’ve liked you for a long time, and…” No no, that doesn’t sound right…how about “Akaashi…I’ve been thinking, and…”_

_No no no!_

Blindly, Bokuto had followed Akaashi out into the gym, where the nets needed to be set up and the volleyballs needed airing-up, and now, he found himself standing right next to the setter, who had finally stopped the conversation long enough to question his senpai’s behavior.

 

“Bokuto-san,” Keiji reluctantly prompted, getting the wild-haired boy to finally focus on one point. “Is something wrong?”

 

Kotaro’s mind paused for a long moment, replacing his questions and methods with the image of Akaashi Keiji, whose beauty was within inches of him, within reach, right between his fingers, just waiting for him to finally admit his true feelings…

“No!” Bokuto squeaked. “Nothing’s wrong at all!”

Before Akaashi could even blink, the wing spiker had turned around and bolted to the other side of the gym, where Konoha and Haruki were just entering.

“Let’s get to practicing! Hey hey Konoha, how’s your girlfriend? Did she dump you yet?”

 

In the end, Bokuto decided he wasn’t ready to be the person who would drive a confused, shocked glimmer into Akaashi’s eyes; he kept his mouth shut for the time being, and went through practice in torment, wondering if he would ever get the courage to tell Keiji how he felt about him.

 

~~~-~~~

 

The rest of the week managed to become Bokuto’s second worst week of practice in the history of the Fukurodani volleyball club.

 

No one was exactly sure why the wing spiker was more spazzy than confident when he arrived at practice, and no one knew why he seemed too distracted to even become dejected over his total failures during practice. The coaches were really concerned about this strange mood, and wondered if it was one of his new additions for games that they needed to be seriously worried over; the other third years tried coaxing his worries out, only to unleash a flurry of “I’m still the best!” chants for the rest of the week. The first years were suddenly terrified of this version of their captain, and tried their hardest to stay away from “bizzerk Bokuto,” fearing that they might accidently trigger the spiker into a spiraling rage. The current situation was leaking from Kotaro’s fear and anxiety over wanting to ask the team’s vice captain out—things weren’t going well inside his mind, and it definitely showed in his spikes, lack of focus, and lack of studying.

 

It wasn’t until Saturday’s practice that Akaashi realized _he_ might be part of the problem.

 

Things weren’t going well, due to Bokuto’s outlandish, unnerving behavior, and when Keiji went to try and reconnect with their captain after a particularly awful spike, he finally realized what had been bothering him since Kotaro entered into this mood.

“Bokuto-san,” Akaashi pleaded, walking over to the owl as the other scrimmage team celebrated over their point. “Was the set too low?”

“No!” Kotaro shook his head. “It was fine, Akaashi!”

Keiji narrowed his eyes as Bokuto looked to his left, where nothing could possibly be interesting, as they were two-feet away from the wall.

“Bokuto-san,” He tried again, stepping further in front of his captain. “You need to tell me if the set was too high or too low. Your spikes aren’t going to be consistent if my sets aren’t, so just tell me what I need to do.”

“Nothing!” Bokuto claimed, looking to his right, skipping over his setter completely. “The set was great, Akaashi-kun!”

 

The wing spiker jogged away without another word—

 

That was when Akaashi realized that Bokuto hadn’t looked him in the eyes on a single occasion since Monday’s practice.

 

“Serve’s up!” Konoha called, snapping the setter back to earth. He lolly-gagged his way back over to his spot, mind reeling as he couldn’t stop staring at Bokuto-san, who was determined not to glance the vice captain’s way. He was pretending to be focused on the match, but everyone knew his mind was on a different planet.

 _What did I do to make him upset with me?_ Akaashi wondered, setting the ball up for Sarukui. _Is it…is it MY fault that he’s in this mood? I can’t think of anything I would have done that could cause such a strange phase…_

When he set the ball to Bokuto again, on the match point for the opposing team, the spiker sent the ball flying into the opposite wall, nearly taking Haruki’s head off in the meantime. Kotaro cried out in agony, but something was still off; Akaashi watched him and him alone as they shook hands with their teammates, trying to figure out what in the living hell could be so wrong that the _captain_ of the volleyball team was absolutely _sucking_ at volleyball this week.

 _Could it be family problems?_ Keiji wondered fearfully, seeing Bokuto hurry into the bathroom after practice. _Could someone be harassing him?_

Kotaro was the first one out of the locker room, wishing his team goodbye, promising to be better next week, which was a promise everyone knew he couldn’t keep, even if he _had_ been in his regular mood. Akaashi watched him carefully, and saw him head in the direction of the school’s fountain.

 

 _Well_ , the setter thought with silent anxiety. _There’s only one way to find out._

 

Bokuto was staring into the water of the fountain, having just splashed his face with the clear liquid when someone called his name.

 

“Bokuto-san!”

 

 _Curse you, Akaashee!_ Kotaro thought, glancing up to see the second-year jogging after him. _There’s no way I can NOT look at him now…_

Taking a deep breath, Bokuto stood up to meet the dark-haired boy as he trotted towards the former, stopping right in front of him; for a second, the fountain waterfall cascading down was the only noise around them. Akaashi seemed to be pondering something, and Kotaro looked at him for the first time in a week, finding that his crush was even prettier than before, a realization that only made the ache in his chest worsen, his nerves burst to an all-time high—Keiji’s cheeks were just so pretty when they were flushed, and it was funny, because the rest of him was just so serious and nerdy.

Bokuto’s heart began pounding, and his nerves struck a large chord. Everything suddenly felt…too much.

“Are you going home?” Keiji started mildly, as to not frighten the owl away. “Do you want to practice spikes some more?”

“…No thanks.” Bokuto said quietly. Imagine that— _Bokuto_ speaking quietly. Imagine Bokuto _rejecting_ an offer of extra spiking practice. “I’ve gotta get home for dinner. My mom’s making my favorite!”

Keiji expected the lie, and calmly refuted with his growing concerns.

“I see.” He nodded. “Well…if…if anything’s going on that you want to talk about, Bokuto-san…I’m here to listen.”

The wing spiker’s eyes locked on Keiji, growing wide with every emotion possible. Something was bubbling up inside him as he watched the setter talk politely and kindly to him, lips moving deliberately.

“I’ve noticed that you’ve been avoiding me especially this past week, so if it’s something I did or said, please let me know so that I can fix it right away; if it’s something more serious…don’t hesitate to tell me, alright? We’re teammates, Bokuto-san, and unless there’s something terrible going on, I won’t be spilling your secrets to anyone—…do you understand?”

Kotaro tried nodding, but nothing happened. Akaashi looked down for a short moment, twiddling with his hands; he wasn’t trying to come off as nosy, and he really hoped he sounded sincere as he felt.

“We…we’re all worried about you, Bokuto-san, me more than anyone; I’m concerned that you haven’t shared whatever’s wrong with me yet, and I just want to make sure that y—”

 

The second Keiji looked up, he was met with Bokuto’s face quickly leaning towards his—half a second later, he was being kissed.

 

The third-year’s lips were pressed against his fiercely, but with extreme gentleness, like Bokuto was seconds away from collapsing into an exhausted heap; his head was angled downwards just the slightest, so that he could catch all of Akaashi’s lips with his own, ensuring that it was a real kiss, not just a peck. Kotaro’s hands and body remained completely stiff, unmoving, while Keiji’s was tense with shock, his hands clasping each other firmly, both out of fear and shyness, though not enough to move away from his senpai. Bokuto’s lips were picked-at, but soft and full, moving ever-so-slightly against the setter’s…and it was beautiful.

It was so soft, so sweet, and so very innocent. Akaashi’s lips felt nice against his, and they tasted like lemons, maybe rice, maybe every good combination in the entire world—the owl wanted more. He wanted to kiss the setter again, and again, and again…

It wasn’t like anything Bokuto had ever dreamed, and that’s why he cherished every _second_ , every feeling of their short kiss.

 

Kotaro broke the connection with a sharp step backwards, getting a surprised, delayed gasp from Akaashi as their lips separated. The vice captain’s eyes shot wide open, his hand coming up to touch his lips, only to begin shaking half-way and not reach its destination; the owl in front of him looked amazed, but then a terrified expression came over his face as the realization hit him—this wasn’t one of his daydreams. This was 100% _real_. The confusion in Keiji’s eyes told him that.

 

_I…I just kissed Akaashi…I didn’t say anything, I just…kissed…Akaashi…I kissed Akaashi on the LIPS…_

 

That awareness setting in, the trembling fear returning, Bokuto did the only logical thing he could think of: he turned around, and sprinted away from the setter as fast as his legs could carry him.

 

Akaashi stood there alone, watching the wing spiker run away from him, wondering where in the hell that had come from, and why it had taken Bokuto-san, the god of confidence himself, so long to gather enough courage for one simple kiss.

 

~~~-~~~

 

The following day was not a pleasant one for Bokuto.

 

He had managed to put himself to sleep after over-eating at dinner and allowing his mom’s big fat cat to sleep on his bed, but waking-up brought back the delightful, but petrifying memory of the kiss he and Akaashi had shared at the fountain after practice. The nightmare was beginning again, and by the time late afternoon arrived, Bokuto had been pacing his room for a good two-hours; the only witness in the house was his stuffed owl, unrightfully named Keiji, given to the captain by his own kohai Akaashi. The owl’s watchful eyes observed Kotaro’s suffering in silence, letting him rant to his heart’s desire.

“This is so not good!” Bokuto wailed, grabbing onto his hair as his pacing went even faster. “Not good, not good at all! The team’s gunna hate me! They’re gunna kick me off the team for ruining our rhythm! Oh no…I can’t get kicked off the team…I can’t let Akaashi down like that!”

Kotaro paused his pacing to think, his eyes growing wider at a terrifying image.

“But…what if _Akaashi_ wants me off the team?!”

The idea sent the wing spiker into hysterics, and he plopped onto his bed dramatically, groaning and whimpering in defeat. His stomach was starting to ache from all the stress he was putting himself under…to think, all of this drama started with a side comment from one of the girls in his class.

 

_“Akaashi-kun’s really grown into himself! I had no idea he was so handsome.”_

 

Bokuto blamed that girl for all of his problems, and gave a loud sigh as he rolled over to lay on his stomach, hoping to relieve some of the pain; _if she hadn’t pointed this out, I wouldn’t be having a mid-life crisis right now,_ Kotaro thought bitterly, frowning into his bedsheets _. Maybe I would have eventually figured out that I like Akaashi, but I’m pretty dumb—it might have been a good few years before I realized how sexy and cute he is! A few years can do wonders. Maybe I’d be more mature by then._

_Stupid girls…_

The wing spiker was sick of having his eyes closed, and opened them to stare blankly at his wall, full of volleyball posters and articles about he and the rest of Fukurodani’s volleyball team; Bokuto had blindly forgotten about how others were affected by the relationships between teammates. He forgot that no matter how good people are at ignoring, their feelings still show, and other people take notice. He forgot that Akaashi might tell someone about what happened before he even got a chance to explain, or make an excuse, like how he was hallucinating and thought Keiji was a girl or something; he just forgot about all of these worries, simply because of how enchanting it was to kiss Akaashi, right in front of the school fountain, with the water driplets as a peaceful background…

_When did I become such a sap?_

 

Kotaro sighed again and laid his head down on his forearms—in doing so, he came face to face with the owl Beanie Boo who had been watching his meltdown with great interest.

 

The volleyball captain gave a little huff, poking the owl’s belly with his finger.

“If only you could talk, Keiji.” He said. “Then maybe I’d feel better. …I wish I could talk to _someone_ about this, but obviously I can’t talk to my teammates, not even Konoha, because that wouldn’t be fair to Akaashi, since he probably didn’t tell anyone about what happened…”

Keiji the owl continued to stare, inviting his owner to do whatever he wished. Bokuto looked at the stuffed animal for quite some time, pondering his options—if he told his mom, she might be weirded out, he couldn’t tell his dad, because homosexuality was a touchy subject in Japan, and his mom’s cat was a jerk, especially to him…

This left him with one option:

 

Keiji the owl.

 

“So here’s my dilemma, Keiji. Are you ready to listen?”

The little brown plush did nothing, and Bokuto moved into a better position.

“Let’s start at the beginning. Keep up, okay? I’m not gunna repeat this to anyone ever again, so don’t forget.”

 

The third-year wing spiker, captain of the volleyball team, sat on the bed with his stuffed owl for a solid hour, telling him all about how he started to notice little things about his best friend and teammate, Akaashi Keiji, about three weeks ago. He explained in great detail how he liked sharing snacks with the second-year, how he wanted to impress the setter and take him under his wing, even though their personalities were drastically different. Bokuto told him about how Akaashi let him sleep on his shoulder when they traveled to team camps and games, and how they had a weird heart-to-heart about their love for volleyball after being stuck on the bus one night when the roads were too icy to drive on. He told him how he admired and respected the second year for his intelligence and sternness, which was needed for his random mood swings; Keiji listened to Bokuto describe his appreciation for the setter, how he loved listening to his voice and talking to him, how he loved looking at him and watching his expression, and of course, he gushed about how much he loved kissing Akaashi, if only for a short five-seconds.

“And his lips are really soft, Keiji! If I hadn’t been a moment away from having a heart-attack, I totally would have been able to live in the moment and tell you all about how beautiful it was!” Kotaro explained, using hand gestures to make the owl understand. “And I know this all sounds ridiculous, because I’ve only just realized my feelings for him, which is kinda scary, and I know that wasn’t a responsible thing to do when I haven’t even told him h—”

 

Suddenly, Bokuto’s phone went off on the loudest volume possible, making him jump right off the bed and squeal in fear.

 

_Sie sind das Essen und Wir sind die Jaeger!_

_Duh duh dun dun dun dun dun dunn!_

_Duh duh dun dun dun dun dun dunn!_

 

“Oh my gosh,” Kotaro huffed, leaning over to recover as his heart raced. “I really need to change my ringtone…”

The grey-haired teen went over to his writing desk, where his cell phone was lying underneath a notebook; he pushed the papers aside and felt his face go pale as soon as he read who the sender of the text was.

_MESSAGE FROM: KEIJI_

Bokuto slowly turned around, expecting his plush owl to come jumping out at him with demon eyes and claws.

“K…Keiji?” He asked in terror. “Is t-that y-you?”

His phone went off again, and he jumped a second time, snatching his phone up to stop the ringtone—clicking on the message, he discovered that the text was not from his haunted owl Beanie Boo, but from none other than Akaashi Keiji himself, his first name having shown up first, since Bokuto had his entire name in as his contact. He bit his lip anxiously, pondering if he should open the message or not; obviously the setter had been doing some serious thinking as well, given that it was late in the afternoon before he messaged his senpai, but still…that couldn’t mean anything good. Thinking never got Kotaro anywhere good.

 

Using what little courage he had left, with help from Keiji the owl, Bokuto opened the texts.

 

_KEIJI AKAASHI: Are u busy?_

_KEIJI AKAASHI: I’m going for a run—if u want to join, I’ll be by the school fountain in fifteen minutes_

 

“Did I forget to mention how I love when Akaashi texts, because he spells everything correctly except for the word ‘you’?” Bokuto said out-loud, looking to Keiji for guidance on what to do next. He plopped down on the bed again and stared at the texts for a solid minute, fingers hovering over the keys.

 _He wants to talk about what happened, I guess_ , Kotaro thought, biting his fingernail anxiously. _I suppose I could go for a run…maybe it would distract me…or maybe Akaashi would just distract me…_

 

_KOTARO BOKUTO: I’ll b their in 10!_

The receiver replied within five-seconds.

_KEIJI AKAASHI: There*_

The spiker laughed at Akaashi’s response, and leapt off the bed to get dressed; he was still in his pajamas, but if his mom asked, he would say he had been wearing shorts all day. Hurriedly, body shaking with nerves and anticipation, Kotaro pulled a sweatshirt on and slipped some socks over his feet, thanking Keiji one more time before shoving his shoes on and heading out the door, ready to face his greatest fear. As he gradually ran in the direction of Fukurodani Academy, he let himself believe that Akaashi wasn’t upset with him for the kiss; in his text, he hadn’t seemed angry at all. Keiji wasn’t one to block his emotions with Bokuto—he was always brutally honest with him, because that kind of emotion was all that got through to the captain.

 

As Bokuto headed towards the fountain, he hoped that was still the case today, however painful the outcome might be for him.

 

~~~-~~~

 

The third-year came timidly jogging around the corner of the school, both surprised and relieved to see Akaashi standing by the white stone water fountain in his baggy sweatshirt and running pants. He had mittens on as well, but Kotaro figured now wasn’t the time to be teasing the setter.

He ended-up doing so anyways, because his nerves got the better of him as he was spotted by the dark-haired student.

“Hey hey, nice mittens, Akaashee!” Bokuto commented, tugging on the panda bear print lightly. “Where can I get some, huh?”

“My grandma gave them to me for Christmas last year,” Keiji said simply. His eyes hadn’t left Bokuto since he arrived, studying his expression with great caution. “It’s getting further into the fall season, Bokuto-san…you should start wearing warmer clothing.”

“Fine fine…but if I get all sweaty and gross, I’m putting the blame on you!”

 

The usual banter was most welcomed by both parties, but not a second later, the boys shifted on their feet awkwardly as silence fell around them. Bokuto wasn’t sure who should start, but given that he was older and the most at-fault in the situation, he let the burden onto his shoulders, and gave a quiet breath before turning to boldly face Akaashi.

 

“I’m sorry for yesterday, Akaashee.” He mumbled. “It was wrong of me to just do that without asking if it was okay with you first…I’m sorry if I offended you, or embarrassed you, or maybe you uncomfortable…”

“Why did you run?” Akaashi asked evenly, looking Bokuto straight in the eyes.

Kotaro had to pause in relief that Keiji wasn’t scolding him before coming up with a reply. This was it. This was his moment to tell Akaashi how he felt, how he had probably been feeling for the past year.

“I…well…I—I always get flustered about volleyball, you know, because I like it so much, so I wanna be really great at it, and lately I’ve been feeling really nice feelings about you, and I told him about my feelings, and I really wanted to tell _you_ how I felt, and I wanted to ask if you would go out with me, but I couldn’t come up with the words, and then I freaked out a little bit, which you probably noticed—”

“Yeah.” Akaashi mumbled under his breath. “We _all_ noticed.”

“And…and I guess I just…” Kotaro shook his head and huffed at himself. “I just…when I realized that…I get as flustered around you as I do during volleyball matches…I got scared.”

 

It was Keiji’s heart that got whiplash this time around, making his breathing increase with beautiful butterflies fluttering around in his stomach. Bokuto had been making eye-contact with him the entire time, and it made the setter realize just how much he missed seeing those yellow owlish eyes stare over at him with excitement and confidence.

 

“I got really scared, Akaashi. And…I guess I just couldn’t stop myself yesterday, because you were saying all those nice things to me, and suddenly, I wasn’t scared anymore—I was just…” The spiker lowered his voice shyly. “ _Really really_ into you.”

 

Keiji stared at his senpai, blue eyes widened, but not with disgust or fear. He wasn’t sure what to say, but to get his point across, he wanted to be closer to Bokuto, so he took a step forward; not a second after the second-year opened his mouth to speak, he found himself being kissed by Kotaro once more.

 

This kiss was a little more playful, but none the less meaningful and precious; Bokuto only moved his lips once, but that one time was enough to send Akaashi’s mind reeling, his heart racing even faster than before. His senpai’s bare fingers brushed against Keiji’s covered ones below them, sending a tingle up his arm—Kotaro himself was practically glowing over the fact that the setter was letting him kiss him a _second time_ …he didn’t even think he could away with it once, and now Akaashi was willingly standing here again, _letting_ himself be kissed?

Bokuto thought he was dreaming.

He let himself savor the taste, the feel of his kohai this time around, his eyelids fluttering over the gentle sensation; he wanted to pull him closer, but more importantly, he wanted to tell him how he felt. He didn’t want to tell his owl—he wanted to tell the real Keiji, he wanted to see his beautiful reactions, and he wanted to tell him that it was okay, he didn’t have to like him back, that he would be okay with whatever the second-year wanted to do.

 

Bokuto just wanted Akaashi.

 

They broke apart quietly, letting their eyelids open slowly as the moment faded into a smaller moment, full of lingering butterflies and laughable embarrassment. The chilly autumn wind was brushing against their faces, but nothing could make them cold, not when they were closer than ever, recovering from the heavy amount of sweet relief between the two. To think, only one day ago, Kotaro had only ever been kissed by his childhood crush who lived next door to his family, and now, he was kissing his favorite person in the whole wide world! Akaashi himself had never been kissed before this point, hence, his disappointed at Bokuto’s running away after the fact, but he figured this made up for everything. They took a long second to recover from each other, and although they were both anxious over the future, they didn’t give themselves time to think about the what if’s—there was plenty of time for that, and so little amount of moments such as these.

 _Nailed it,_ Bokuto thought in triumph.

Akaashi sighed when they finally opened their eyes, now realizing that he would be interrupted many times throughout their new relationship, whether it be with kisses, or just the yells and wails from his boyfriend. He didn’t scold Bokuto today, however, and gave his senpai a small smile as he turned to face the running path.

“Want to finish my run with me?” The setter asked.

Kotaro grinned for the first time in a week, his old self returning in a flash.

“Do I ever! I’m gunna kick your butt, Akaashee! You should know better than to challenge your senpai!”

“Wait,” Akaashi said, grabbing Bokuto’s arm. “You mentioned earlier that you told someone about your feelings for me—who did you tell?”

“…Keiji……my owl.”

 

Akaashi paused; he turned away slowly following a long silence, taking a few steps towards the path.

 

“I think I’ll finish my run alone.”

 

“Akaashee, wait!”

 

The setter and ace of Fukurodani finished their run under a half-hour, after which, they stopped to rest in the local park, where another kiss was shared between the two. It was as sweet as ever, a bit more hesitant, with a lot more blush creeping to their already flushed cheeks; they were hidden behind a large oak tree, a moment only for their eyes to see.

 

That time, _Akaashi_ was the one to kiss Bokuto—but the wing spiker planned to switch the story up a bit when he told the rest of the team tomorrow morning.

**Author's Note:**

> Oh Bokuto...we all know Akaashi loves you. If only you knew as well!  
> (Look forward to the next oneshot, including a sleepover/campout of the entire Fukurodani Volleyball Team! Should be interesting..)


End file.
